Monday, March 28, 2005

Fringe 2005 - The Fringe Preview Circuit

Most of you already know this but just in case...You know you don't have to wait til the Fringe comes around to see Fringe-worthy theater. It's all over Minneapolis. Just a couple of examples of places you might find it...

Heidi Arneson's currently still on the wait list for this year's Fringe, but she's hardly just sitting around waiting. The play she intends to do, Beast of Nothing, an anti-war comedy, recently hit the stage at Red Eye (a frequent Fringe host venue).

And, not that I have much use for The Playwrights' Center anymore these days - after all, what can you say about an organization that doesn't consider a Fringe production to be a production of a play? - but even they have Fringey material coming through their doors.

Theatre Unbound presents many of their regular season offerings in the Waring Jones Theater at the Center. This year, they're schedule to bring "Chicks In Space" to the Fringe. And Mary Jo Pehl - of the late lamented Mystery Science Theater 3000 - recently had a reading of her Fringe play "Man Saved" as part of the Center's weekly new play reading series The Roundtable.

This week, Theatre Unbound is holding their annual benefit and 24 Hour Play Project at Illusion Theater's space at the Hennepin Center for the Arts (528 Hennepin Avenue, 8th floor). 6 teams of playwrights create new plays overnight Friday night April 1st into early Saturday morning April 2nd. Then directors and cast are assigned and rehearsed and at 8pm on Saturday evening, the plays are performed - all within a 24 hour period. I've participated in the past and do so again this weekend. There's always strange and wonderful theater that results from the pressure cooker. And it's for a good cause - good theater from Theatre Unbound. The event begins at 7pm on Saturday, April 2nd; the plays go up at 8pm. Live music, silent auction and more round out the evening. Tickets are $25. Call 651-331-0129 for reservations. For more information, visit my site or www.theatreunbound.com

And to get your Fringe fix year round, check out Red Eye at www.redeye.org

Friday, March 25, 2005

The saving grace of showcases is that they aren't all one thing. It's a grab bag of different artists and styles, sometimes gathered around a common theme, sometimes not.

Having helped produce a two-part, two-slot showcase of short plays last year with Fast Fringe, I know firsthand that the logistics of such an undertaking can be tricky - even if, as in our case, you use the same director and same cast for both slots and all ten short plays. You're still dealing with ten different playwrights. That's a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and everyone has their own ideas about how it should all turn out.

That's why I'm full of admiration for people who do it well, make it successful, and somehow also manage to make it look almost easy - like the folks involved in Thirst (Mondays at Joe's Garage, which, if you haven't seen, you should, it's a marvelous and entertaining collection of brand new short works by local writers with some of the best actors in town bringing them to life - you can check out here or here for more info)

Paula AndersonSpoken Word Showcase4 or 5 performers doing short readings of their work

Molly BalcomWorks/Plays 2005A series of short plays by local emerging writers and directors.

Why, you ask? Basically because of the people involved. I know Paula Anderson and she's a loyal supporter of the arts, particularly new work, in this town. Anything with her behind it is something I want to see.

Molly Balcom and the Works/Plays people have been fostering new work for a while now as well, with regular showcases of experimental work throughout the year. So if they're bringing their act to the Fringe, I'm interested.

There are several other showcases on the schedule. Check them out. After all, if something in the showcase doesn't strike your fancy, in a few minutes something entirely different will come along. Your odds of finding something you like are very good in this kind of structure.

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

The Fringe 2005 Ping Pong Ball Awards

The "Oops, Sorry About That" Award

I'm not entirely sure how it happened but it was one of two things - either they read the number of the ping pong ball wrong, or they got the number right but accidentally read the description of the wrong company and show.

But early on in the drawing of the general lottery, they read the following after a certain ping pong ball was drawn...

A funny thing happened at the Fringe lottery. They did a number of special drawings (international, kids, teens, 90 minute slots, showcases, artists of color, even one for the Southern Theater for those groups interested in doing aerial work) prior to the larger general drawing. For the most part, leftovers from each of the initial lotteries went back into the spinning cage for the general lottery so they'd get a second chance.

But after drawing ten slots for artists of color, they realized they had enough slots for the 11th and final candidate as well. So like the international pull, going through the drawing of ping pong balls really wasn't necessary. Whoops. But we did get to hear about each of the candidates that way at least.

I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing that there was plenty of room. On the one hand - great, there were at least 11 slots set aside so everyone got in. On the other hand, like the international artists, it means there weren't more than enough artists applying so that actual choices needed to be made. In many ways, it would be nice to have that problem.

I wonder why more artists of color don't apply to the Fringe. Do they just not know it's there? Do they not feel interested, or feel they wouldn't be welcome? Do they feel the financial burden is too great?

On that last count, the Fringe really does bend over backward to make the money a non-issue. There's a process by which you can defer your application fee, to have it taken out of your profits on the back end. And when they consider who to give these deferments to, a main consideration is, "Would any of the categories this artist falls into be underrepresented in the Fringe if they weren't a part of it?" In other words, what do we need more of? The producer of my show last year, Dandelion Snow, didn't get a deferment in part because, let's face it, theater by gay white people is hardly underrepresented in the Fringe.

So while I'm excited that we do have as many artists of color as we do on this year's schedule, it'd be great to have more next year, so a lottery among them is actually necessary.

And if I know the Fringe staff, they're already working on making that a reality. One of the many things I love about the Fringe, the tent just keeps getting bigger.

This year's artists of color are:

Aniccha ArtsFragile LinesSurvivor stories from the tsunami in SE Asia. AN interactive performance with movement, video and sound.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Only two ping pong balls into the larger general lottery drawing, we got...

"A gay academic explains how the GLBT community has successfully destroyed marriage in the past and lays out new strategies for continuing the assault on marriage."

I like a guy who can laugh through the pain - at least I hope he's kidding (irony and/or dry wit doesn't always translate on an application form)

A little Googling and I find he may have been a critic for the local newspapers in the 1990s, but we won't hold that against him. After all, what the heck am I doing in this blog and on my website? Plus, if it is the same guy, he gave my friend Jonathan Rayson a few reviews so good that he still lists them on his website after moving off to the Big Apple to work on Broadway. So the subject and the artist get all kinds of slack from me. I'm actually looking forward to this one, sight unseen.

It's a mixed blessing. The Fringe is doing so well, they get 240-plus applications for only 140-plus scheduled slots on the schedule.

Which in some ways means that for almost every show you get the chance to see, there's another one waiting in line that didn't quite make it. This year it wasn't the vagaries of the postal service but being on the wrong side of the ping pong balls. It levels the playing field for all, but that doesn't make it any easier, I imagine.

This year they made a bid to come back again, and currently they're about 70 or so down on the wait list. What might we see from them, if they end up making the final cut...?

Monsters in America: Abominations of PuppetryZombies, werewolves, and puppets (Ohmy) Those cute puppets from last year's Death Penalty Puppetry are back. This time however they have terror on their minds. What are you afraid of? Come on, they're only puppets.

The good news is that the puppet project is part of the larger, ongoing Chameleon Theatre Circle, so they're sure to be back at some point, now or in the future. And they already have their next idea in the hopper.

Sunday, March 06, 2005

"Dead Wait - With a cigarette in her hand and a head on her shoulders, Jayne Mansfield holds court while two slain waiters search for meaning in their deaths. With the right people in the wrong place at the wrong time, Kreitzer’s play explores the American obsession with celebrity and the fulfillment we hope it provides."

There's a few reasons this one's on my radar.

First of all, the play is written by Carson Kreitzer, who I think is a supremely gifted playwright. When I served on the panel for the Theater Fellowships from the Minnesota State Arts Board a few years back (before the governor gutted their funding. Thanks, Tim), I had the pleasure of reading her play "Freak Show," and I've been a fan ever since. I've attended three other Twin Cities productions of her work - "Slither" at the late and much-lamented Eye of the Storm Theatre, and "Self Defense" and "The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer" both at Frank Theater. Even when the productions were uneven, her way with language was always entrancing. So I'll pretty much see anything with her name on it, and heartily recommend it to others.

Secondly, Emigrant Theater is a new theatre in town dedicated to producing the work of living playwrights. As a living playwright myself, I know we need all the friends we can get. It's why I love the Fringe. And why I'm going to give these folks an audience member. They recently had a launch party and reading of a new play by Alan Berks (of Fringe 2004's Goats fame)

Third, I love a good Jayne Mansfield joke. (Oh, c'mon, look it up).

If you're interested in getting a sample of their work prior to the Fringe, they're having their first full production in April. It's a new play entitled "The Presence of Children," written by Matt Di Cintio - the scribe behind 2004's Fringe entry from Outward Spiral Theatre Company - The Valets.

For details on the exact when and where of the production, go to their website listed below, or it'll also be listed in my Theatre Recommendations on my site.

Fringe 2005 - Reunion of the Top Ten Class of 2004 - Many Happy Returns part deux

Ammala Dance and Music - Ammala Cabaret

It happens every year. Invariably I earmark a show to be sure and go see, or have it brought to my attention and fully mean to go, but it doesn't happen.

In 2003, it was Tom Cassidy. Though he guested on my TV show, Cue to Cue, as part of the six Fringe spotlight episodes, I didn't get to see his production of "The Hanging of Pollyanna" that year. Finally saw him last year in his 2004 Fringe outing, Osama Kincaid, Painter of Terror - loved it, as I knew I would, which only made me all the sorrier I missed the opportunity to see him before.

In 2004, not only did Ammala Dance and Music guest on Cue to Cue, but they were actually on my pre-Fringe Top Ten. So I was really planning to catch them in action, and still didn't manage to do it.

Not that they were probably hurting for audience members. They were one of the most popular dance productions in the 2003 Fringe with their showcase, "On The Beaded Fringe" and likely repeated that showing with their followup in 2004 - "On The Beaded Fringe 2: Traveling In Hip Circles."

And they're back on the schedule again this year with Ammala Cabaret:

"A modern Middle Eastern music and dance theater celebration including dance, live music, spoken word, and video."

Having seen an example of their work when they came on the TV show, I know their shows are full of life, energy, and sly humor, and their enthusiasm for what they do is infectious. I'm gonna see if I can get it right and see them this year. 2005 Fringe audiences have a chance to do the same - whether they've seen them before and are back for more, or just curious what all the chatter's about.

You can find out more about Ammala and its work by visiting their site - www.ammala.com

[To see the full list of some of my favorite returnees from Fringe 2004, click here

Saturday, March 05, 2005

This is not the Oz of Dorothy and Toto, but the Oz of HBO's prison drama. Not for the squeamish.

This troupe from Iowa is back again with more naked guys and more violence. For some, that should be enough to insure hefty audience numbers.

In fact, if I'd had my act together, they would have been listed as one of my pre-Fringe Guilty Pleasures last year, a show I probably shouldn't be drawn to, but I can't help myself. There's a little of the masochist in all of us around Fringe time, I guess. If I hadn't had two shows in Fast Fringe that I had to help tend to, plus my own script Dandelion Snow on the boards as well just down the block, I probably would have had enough wiggle room in my schedule to see Aggravated Assault in action.

Many did, however, and they were all pretty impressed - 4-plus stars, and words like "excellent," "brilliant" and "wow" were bandied about in audience reviews. For a refresher, here's what last year's offering was about:

"Axis Mundi - This rough-and-tumble physical theater piece is based upon what appears to be a simple story: two men (one dark, one fair) fight for a prize, and what happens when one wins. It proves more complicated. Time is fluid; the place has its own story, buried like old bones, an ancient, violent story that reaches up from its grave to seize the human narrative by the throat."

The short description of this year's offering promises more of the same:

"Mustapha's Bride - There is a violent struggle as two hardened prisoners bedevil a third as they prepare him to meet an unwelcome fate."

So, not light family fare to be sure, but if you're looking for the Fringe equivalent of rough trade, the Aggravated Assault crew are your boys.

You can see pictures (got your attention, didn't it?), schedule and reviews of the pre-Fringe productions of Mustapha's Bride as it makes its way toward Minnesota at the company's webiste www.aaensemble.org

Warning - the site, like the company and their productions, is not for the faint of heart.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Fringe 2005 - Reunion of the Top Ten Class of 2004 - Many Happy Returns part deux

Theater Latte' Da - (with the ever popular) TBD

Theater Latte' Da has been part of the Fringe family for a number of years, since they share the lease for the Loring Playhouse, which is - and has been, I think since the very beginning - one of the major stage venues in the heart of the Fringe theater district.

Last year, they threw themselves into the Fringe fully, and knocked one out of the park (no pun intended), with their sold out run of Jim Lichtschiedl's "story-ography" opus, the delightfully whimsical Knock!

It was one of my pre-Fringe Top Ten, due to Jim and Latte' Da's involvement. And it ended up being one of the two most popular shows of the entire Fringe, receiving an extended run, along with Buckets and Tap Shoes, after the Fringe closed up shop.

This year, who knows what they're up to, but once again they're on the schedule.

The show description was a little sparse on the details...

"The piece will involve music and extensive movement."

So, as Leah Cooper so often good-naturedly joked during the lottery about companies with vague show descriptions, "they have no idea what they're doing yet."

But it's early. And knowing Latte' Da, the end result is bound to be a crowd pleaser as well as an artistic success.

You can follow the evolution of this, and other productions they're involved in, by checking out their website at www.latteda.org

[To see the full list of some of my favorite returnees from Fringe 2004, click here

We were down to the last twenty slots to fill on the main schedule. Over 120 shows names had been called before then.

The ping pong ball with number 11 on it was called and I immediately knew who it was because a young woman next to me yelled "THANK GOD!" in a combination of relief and exhaustion with a set of lungs I would not have given her credit for. Good for them. The play...

THACOFour men. One dungeon. No electrum pieces. A new comedy by William Stiteler about four men and their love/hate relationship with their own geeky nature.

I'm sure there are some typos in there, but that's all the info I have at the moment. I have no idea what an electrum piece is. Perhaps I have some catching up to do. (After checking their website, apparently I do. It wasn't a typo, it has something to do with role-playing games.)

Congrats on getting in, Doom folk. (Back for the third time, it seems. They like them some Fringe.)

Tim and Jen were both part of the improv group Unitard which brought us the KBYE Now News Hour.

And Tim served as director for the women's improv troupe, 3 Months To Live, on their enormously titled show, Behind the True Intimate Portrait of the Driven Divas of Comedy-Unplugged (The Day the Laughter Died).

And yes, that was all just in Fringe 2004.

This year it looks like they might be giving themselves a little more breathing room. So far they only have one show, that I'm aware of, on the Fringe schedule. That would be...

They're both gifted comics, and I need a laugh. The idea sounds fun and creepy at the same time (*Love* the title). I'm there. You might want to be, too. After all, they may be doing just one show this year, and it'd be a shame to miss it.

You can check out Tim's site and get on his mailing list for updates on this and the seven or eight other ventures I'm sure he has in the works at the moment. Just go to www.10000comicbooks.com

[To see the full list of some of my favorite returnees from Fringe 2004, click here

About Me

Playwright, arts writer for Twin Cities Daily Planet and MNArtists.org, blogger mostly about the Minnesota Fringe Festival - www.matthewaeverett.com is my writing website and general web home - still, at the moment, just like the blog title of old says, single